April 2007

April 30, 2007

I'm away this week on vacation. I'll be back soon with the latest City Hall juice.

Next Monday I'll be covering a meeting on the City Hall renovations. You'll recall some councillors want to scratch the planned reno and build a new building that would combine the school board offices. Thoughts?

April 24, 2007

Council's bitter days appear to be over, at least for now. Everyone was smiling and laughing today as council put their final stamp of approval on the 2007 budget. City clerk Mary Gallagher even brought a cake to celebrate the occasion. The mayor had a chuckle over the icing decoration of a cow jumping in bed, as in putting the budget COW (short for committee of the whole) to rest. Gallagher was presented with roses to thank her for sitting through the endless meetings that sparked angry debate and outbursts over the past month. Today's meeting took less than 20 minutes — a good reason to smile.

April 23, 2007

Memo to Peel, Hamilton has a new mayor. The surprise results of the November election apparently haven't traveled down the QEW yet. A letter from the Region of Peel asking Hamilton to endorse a public health motion arrived before Hamilton city councillors this morning. The letter, dated Feb. 26, addressed Mr. Larry Di Ianni.
Councillor Brian McHattie pointed out the error, earning a chuckle from Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
"A bit of a faux pas on their part," noted McHattie.

April 21, 2007

My colleague Dan Nolan just passed this on for the blog. He covered the annual gathering of the Indo-Canada Society of Hamilton and Region last night at Carmen’s. Mayor Fred Eisenberger was a speaker and told the crowd groups like ICS help “make Hamilton one of the great melting pots of Canada.”
Eek. Canada isn’t a melting pot, which is a society where immigrants from different cultures and races become assimilated. Canada is a multicultural mosaic, where diversity is celebrated.
Fred did earn a few chuckles from the crowd when he joked he meant to ask them to hand in their pens and pencils before they came in.

I did a little dance in the newsroom yesterday I was so excited council gave preliminary approval to this year's budget. That's no reflection on their final number, just relief I don't have to sit through any more eight-hour meetings.
When council started their budget process they vowed an increase of 3 per cent or less. At that time many councillors argued they wanted to go even lower. Then the province threw the city a curve ball, giving them $12 million for downloaded social services, instead of the $17 million council was expecting. That instantly put the budget up 1 per cent. But council also added to the budget with $3.7 million in enhancements like floral traffic medians and poverty programs.
Yesterday the majority of council agreed they were happy with 3.4 per cent. Another six councillors voted against the budget, arguing council could still find more cuts to make the increase easier on residents. As Councillor Terry Whitehead noted when taxpayers get their bills, it’s council they’ll hold responsible, not the province.
How do you feel about the increase? Should council have keep digging for cuts?

April 20, 2007

Just got back from my lunch break. I ran across the street from City Hall to the Jackson Square for food and a little shopping. I had to battle for a table at the food court it was so busy and then waited in line to buy a gift at a small boutique. As I was leaving I noticed the new Honest Lawyer restaurant was also bustling. All good signs for downtown renewal. Then someone asked me for spare change and another man started randomly cursing at pedestrians — a classic example of why some residents don’t feel comfortable in core.
How are you feeling about the city’s downtown lately?

April 19, 2007

I received my latest edition of Brownfield News today (try not to be jealous that I get a subscription as part of my beat) and was pleased to see an article about Hamilton in the glossy magazine produced in Chicago. The story details council's recent decision to open a new brownfield office that will target investing and marketing the city's abandoned and underused employment lands. At latest count, there are more than 200 brownfields around the city.
The article quotes Councillor Brian McHattie, who proposed the office along with Chad Collins.
"This is taking another step in the right direction by declaring brownfields a strategic priority," McHattie said.
The new office will cost about $80,000 and should be up and running this year.

April 18, 2007

Anyone else have the shakes from blackberry withdrawal today? I was alarmed to wake up this morning to discover no messages on my favourite accessory. By 9 a.m., I knew something had to be seriously wrong. I nearly cried when I heard the blackberry server was down. How in the world would I cover City Hall?
My blackberry has become just as essential as my notebook on this beat. The little black device is a must-have for many councillors and city staff – the one exception is the mayor who told me he turned off the email function because it was too distracting. I, on the other hand, live for the flashing red light that signals a new message and couldn’t be happier it’s back!

Hamilton's former mayor Larry Di Ianni is back for his next political battle. He won the Liberal nomination for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek on the weekend and hopes to take down NDP MP Wayne Marston in the next federal election. Di Ianni told the Spec's Andrew Dreschel that his MP bid isn't about redemption, rather just a desire stay involved in politics and continue to serve the city.

What do you think of Di Ianni's comeback attempt? Is it too soon? What are his chances?

April 13, 2007

In case you missed Bob Bratina's pen throw at council this week, the whole affair was caught on camera by the folks at Cable 14 and they were good enough to provide me with a copy of the councillor's meltdown. I've posted it after the jump so that it doesn't slow down the loading of the main page. Take a look, if you haven't seen it yet...

Nicole Macintyre

Nicole MacIntyre is the queen of kings. A married mother of two boys, including the world's former worst sleeper, she's also a reporter and parenting columnist at the Hamilton Spectator. A devotee of the 'whatever works' approach to child-rearing, Nicole has learned to never say "I'll never" when it comes to parenting.